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Family fun for all!

Sail Date:
June 2011

Destination:
Bahamas

Embarkation:
New York (Manhattan)

We just got off the boat- and wish we could have stayed for another week! There was so much to do! We are a family of 5 with 3 boys ages 9,6 & 2. We danced and read books with Dora and Diego. Each of the older boys participated in Slime time at the beach and pool. My 6 year old son was on stage as the fabulous magician,JP's assistant. Our family was a part of Family Feud, digital scavenger hunts, murder mystery luncheons, trivia, pictionary, singing games and white hot parties. We were even chosen to be the family for Slime Time Live and won the buckets of green gooey slime dumped on our heads! Yes.... We had a blast!!!

This was all in addition to impecible rooms (a Mini suite with an inside cabin directly across the hall- worked well gor us), more yummy food than we should gave consumed, pleasant and attentive staff from the Nickelodeon crew to the kids crew and the spa, gym and everyone in between. There were entertainers at every venue who were top notch! We saw every More
show and listened to many of the bands in the bar areas. Of particular interest to us was Scott who played guitar and sang in bar city most nights. He was excellent!

We ate at the garden cafe many times to meet the needs of all - and loved the fresh made to order omlets for breakfast and the fresh stir fry and pasta made to order for lunch and dinner. My boys ate their weight in pizza and soft serve ice cream.... Oh well, it is vacation!!!

We also had some delicious adult- only meals in the specialty restaurants while the kids stayed in the kids club. The lamb dish at Chin Chin was the best Chinese dish I have ever tasted! Tsars formal dining was elegant and the steak and lamb which we ordered there rivaled land based fine dining. At Tangos, the cover charge came with a complimentary margarita for us. The drink, appetizers and fajitas were tasty Tex-Mex. LeBistro was the setting for our murder mystery luncheon and the shrimp salad and meatloaf were a great addition to the entertainment the cast and crew provided as we solved the mystery which they acted out. Less

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Cabin review: Norwegian Jewel

We loved our mini suite with balcony. You can't beat having your own little slice of paradise. We never heard a peep from neighbors. My husband says he heard noise from overhead (dancing at the pool area.) but, honestly, anytime there was something going on there, we were up participating! Our suite had a tub which was nice for the little one. The 6 & 9 year old preferred the inside cabin because of the cool bed which came down from the wall.

Port and Shore Excursions

We enjoyed walking around in Nassau at the straw market and shops. Although, one quick trip down the aisles was all we needed to experience it :). We did a shore excursion to Atlantis for the aquarium. This was a last minute switch which they accommodated due to the fact that our 2 year old wasn't feeling up to another day at the beach as we had planned. The aquarium was the only tour which was "mild" enough for him. However, dad and the other 2 boys complained the whole time!!! They could not stand seeing Atlantis, but only having a ticket to the aquarium. That was our only mistake, but what can you do when you have a child not feeling their best? Make the best of plan B!! I was very grateful to the Norwegian shore excursion desk who assisted with this rearranging just an hour before the excursion was to begin!!

We picked this cruise because if it's NYC departure. WOW!! We drove from Ohio and parked at the pier. For a family of 5, this was much cheaper than flying!!! ($210 to park for the week, less than $20 for tolls, gas was maybe $200 and got a hotel in PA for $45 with breakfast from priceline the night prior to leaving.) The views from the boat going and coming were spectacular!!! We sailed right past the Empire State Building, statue of Liberty and all of lower Manhatten. Upon our return, we put our luggage in out car and set off to see a few sites before heading home including the Intrepid and a few other sites along the piers.

We did not get off the boat at Cape canaveral. We have done vacations to Orlando many times and did not feel that the time we spent in this port justified the travel and expense of traveling to Orlando. There was nothing at the port to do- you have to get a cab or excursion. We enjoyed a quieter time at the pools on the boat.